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Privacy policy reminder
Adopted at the 2004 Annual Meeting, the USPS Privacy and Data Policy protects the privacy of USPS, its members and guests from the inappropriate use of data.
The five-page policy may be found starting on page 72 in the January 2004 Annual Meeting minutes at the Secretary’s Department website.
Section 11.8 of the Operations Manual addresses the privacy of mailing lists and directories, and Appendix G.8 contains the Electronic Data Policy.
Adhering to these policies shows respect for fellow USPS members and their privacy.
–Richard M. Peoples
More of the story
The article “Going Coastal” on page 20 of the Spring 2010 issue didn’t mention the considerable involvement of St. Petersburg Sail & Power Squadron members in the on-the-water Coastal Navigator Certification training.
The boat pictured on the cover was Plan B, a 39-foot Bayliner owned by Tom Chamberlain. Please thank Tom and the other St. Petersburg Squadron members whose boats and hard work got this program off the ground: Gibeon Bradbury, Bill Eibach, Fay Baynard and Dennis J. Greco. Without their efforts, this event couldn’t have taken place.
–Burrage Warner
Low-cost nav system
If I had a large boat and lots of money, I might follow the recommendations in the interesting article “Building a Mobile Nav System” (Spring 2010, p. 24). But as I have a small boat and little money, I will stick to the Mark III eyeball (I wear tri-focal glasses) and what I learned in the excellent USPS Weather and Advanced Piloting courses to get me from here to there safely.
–Henry Depew
Goodbye to an old friend
Today I unwrapped my boat, charged the batteries, powered the radio and checked the Loran-C. There was no signal!
This caught me completely off guard. I know terminating Loran-C has been talked about for years, but after all the reprieves, I thought it was here to stay.
My navigation equipment consists of an old hand-held Garmin GPS, Loran-C (tied into my autopilot) and numerous chart books. Since my husband died, I single-hand most of the time. I replaced my Loran antenna last year and thought I was ready for the season. Now I don’t have the Loran option.
Equipment goes bad and has to be replaced, but to have to scrap a perfectly good piece of equipment is disturbing. Chart plotters are expensive and require technical expertise to install. And they receive signals from the same satellites as my GPS. Where is the cross-reference and backup?
Guess I’d better get new charts and refresh my piloting skills. I still don’t know how I missed the announcement of Loran-C being terminated. Thanks, Ensign, for bringing me up to date.
–Winnie Nissley
Another nav lights problem
“Mind Your Lights” on page 5 of the Winter 2010 issue is an excellent article, but it does not cover a common problem related to the masthead light and anchor light, frequently combined in a single fixture.
When in use, each should shine over a horizontal plane parallel to the water’s surface. But at cruising speed, many boats are tilted significantly compared with their angle at rest. When under way, the masthead light is tilted up, greatly reducing its visibility to oncoming boats.
One solution is to have separate lights mounted so the plane of light is horizontal at anchor and when under way at normal night operating speed.
–Mack Maloney